If travel evokes images of moving from place to place and seeing new things without a care in the world, then what I’ve been doing during the last two week since I’ve gotten back to the US has to be the opposite of travel.

I’ve been living in my parents basement, visiting my father in the hospital every day, terrified of my phone ringing because it might bring bad news. No exploration, no foreign places, and very weighty concerns hanging over my head. My grandmother has been to the emergency room twice and even my great aunt fell down and had to undergo surgery on her hip. (more…)